Hat-sizing machine



(No Model.)

' 2 Sheets-Shed; l. G'. W. ELWELL 8L' B. PAY.

HAT SIZING MACHINE.

w, JC m Patented Feb. 8, 1885.

5: Il z .muummmmu (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

G. W. ELWELL'SE B. PAY. HAT SIZING MACHINE,

No. 311,572. Patented Feb. 3, 1885.

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ll'rvrrnn dramas Parenti erica GEORGE XV. ELVELL AND BERNARD EAY, OFDANBURY, CONNECTICUT.

HAT-SIZING MACHENE.

FDPECEFC'ATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 311,572, datedFebruary 3, 1885.

Application tiled October 10, 1884. (No model.)

To afl whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, GEORG-E W. ELwnLr. and BERNARD Fav, citizens of theUnited States, residing at Danbury, in the county of Fairfield and Stateof Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inHat-Sizing Machines; and we do hereby deelare the following to be afull, clear, and eX- act description of the invention, such as willenable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and usethe same,

Our invention relates to the class of hatsizing machines in which thebundles of hatbodies are rolled along through chambers by means ofendless aprons; and the object thereof is to simplify and improve theirconstruction, to produce, in short, a machine which shall beeconomicalin cost, durable, and practically impossible to get out oforder. With these ends in view we have devised the improvedconstruction, which we will now describe in connection with theaccompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in whichsimilar letters indicate like parts in all the figures.

Figure l is a longitudinal section on the line .o a' in Fig. 2; Fig. 2,a transverse section on the line 9/ 1/ in Fig. l, excepting that theroll is shown in full lines; Fig. 3, a side elevation of the entiremachine; and Fig. 4, a plan view of the belt, a portion ofthecross'picces being removed, and also showing two ot' the rollers whichsupport the belt.

A A represent the frame-work of the machine, which may be put togetherin any suitable manner, and may be made of either metal or wood, thelatter, however, being deemed preferable.-

B is the trough, and C the table.`

D represents hexagonal rollers, whose shafts are journaled in thecorner-posts ofthe niachine, and E round rollers, whose shafts arejonrnaled in the intermediate posts.

F and G represent, respectively, the roof and bottom of the machine,both of which are made adjustable up or down in any suitable manner. Vepreferably, however, use adjusting-shafts having gears which mesh withracks upon the top and bottom, as shown in our former Patent No.308,598, granted October 14, 1884.

An important feature of our present invention consists in an endlesswooden apron carried by the rollers. This apron consists of bands orindependent belts H, of metal, rubber, leather, or any suitablematerial, to which cross-strips H', of wood (metal may be used, ifpreferred) are bolted or otherwise firmly secured. Any number of thesebelts may be used; but we preferably use three only, making them aboutthree inches in width, and placing one at each edge of the rollers andone midway between them. These strips are preferably made about threeinches wide, and are placed close together and bolted to the belts,after which the heads of the bolts are riveted to give additionalsecurity.

In our present machine, as in the one described in our patent referredto above, we make both roof and bottom concave in outline, and providethem with ri bs or lags F' G', the size, location, and arrangement ofwhich are matters wholly within the judgment of the person constructingthe machine. The crossstrips H are made concave in outline from end toend, the curvature corresponding in every respect with that ofthe topand bottom, thus forming two concave chambers, M. rlhe cross-strips arealso provided with lags H, which correspond in size, number, andarrangement with those upon the top and bottom.l In the present instancewe have shown cach cross-strip as provided with five lags. As statedabove, however, this is a matter wholly within the judgment oftheconstructor. \Ve have shown the inner rollers as straight round ones,and the two end ones as hexagonal in cross-section. rllhis, however, isnotan essential feature ot' our invention, as straight round rollers maybe used at the ends, if desired. XVe preferably, however', at the endsuse some form of roller which is polygonal in cross-section, making thewidth of the sides to correspond with the width of the cross-pieces ofthe apron, so that when in use each ofthe sides of the end rollers willcarry one cross-strip of the apron, thus preventing the possibility ofthe belts shifting or slipping on the rolls. We preferably place slidingj ournal-boxes in the corner-posts, in which the shafts ofthe two endrollers are journaled. By this means we are enabled to take up the slackinthe apron should it become stretched in use. l

The gist of our present invention lies in the ICO ` ed the roof andbottom at equal distances from two concave chambers having rigid orunyielding upper and lower surfaces or walls, both of which are providedwith projections or lags, and one of whichis a moving surface or wallwhen the machine is in operation.

K represents side strips,which serve to brace and strengthcnthe machine,and also to close the chambers at the sides.

L represents stops, which limit the movement of the roof and bottom, sothat it will be impossible under any circumstances for the lags oneither to come in contact with those upon the apron. i

We have shown the machine as driven from a belt running on a pulley uponone of the end shafts. This shaft is additionally provided with pulleys,which carry belts running over corresponding pulleys upon lthe shaft atthe opposite end.-

The operation is as follows: Having adjustthe apron, which distance willof course dcpend upon the class of work being done, the operator at oneend of the machine dips the hat-bodies in the trough, rolls them inbundles upon the table, and places the bundles upon the apron, the upperside of which, for example, moves away from him. vAs the apron movesalong the bundles of hat-bodies are kept continually rolling over andover inv a direction opposite to-their forward movement. rlhe bundlesare thus continually brought in contact with the ribs or lags at top andbottom of the chamber, which in effect isthe same as if they weresubjected to a continual series of unyielding blows from abovel andbelow. After passing through the machine the hatbodies are again dippedby another operator, rolled into a bundle, and started back again in theother concave chamber-that is, the one between the apron and thebottom.This operation is repeated as many times as may be' necessary to shrinkthe hat-bodies down to the desired size. As the bundles of bodies travelforward but half as fast as the apron, they get the full thumping andbeating effect of all the lags, ribs, or projections both on the top andbottom of both chambers.

Owing to the curvature of the tops and bottoms of both chambers, thebundles of bodies are kept continually in the center, so that everybundle passed through the machine must be subjected to an equal amountof manipulation. rlhe capacity of the machine is limited only by theability of the two operators to dispose of the bundles of hats. Thebundles may be put in rapidly one after another, and each will receivethe same amount of thumping, no matter how close Vthey may be together.

It will of course be obvious that the details of` construction maybevaried within reasonable limits without departing from the spirit of ourinvention.

Ve make no claim in this application to the subject-matter covered byour former Patent No. 306,598; but,

Having thus described our invention, -we claiml. A hat-sizing machinehaving an adjustable roof and bottom, in combination with an endlessapron consisting of strips placed close together and secured to belts,of metal, rubber, or any suitable material, passing over rollers,whereby unyielding chambers are formed both above and below the apron.

2. The concave roof and bottom, in combination with an endless apronconsisting of concave strips placed close together and secured toendless belts passing over'rollers, whereby two unyielding concavechambers are formed, one wall of each chamber being stationary and theother 'in constant motion when the machine is in use.

3. 1n a hat-sizing machine, two unyielding concave chambers having lagsYor ribs upon both walls, one of said walls being stationary, the otherin constant motion, when the machine is in use.

4. The adjustable concave roof and bottom, in combination with anendlessiapron consisting of strips concave in the direction of theirlength and secured to endless bands or belts, rollers which support saidapron, and a polygonal roller at each end of the machine whose sides areequal in width to the width of the strips, as and for the purpose setforth.-

5. rlhe adjustable root' and bottom, and the endless apron consisting ofstrips placed close together and secured to bands or belts, rollerswhich support said apron, and sliding journal-boxes which carry the endrolls, as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony .whereof we affix our signatures in presence of twowitnesses.

GEORGE w. nimfnnn. BERNARD FAY.

lVitnesses:

ORIN C. BowDY, CHARLns T. ANsoN.

InO

